The ramblings of a Creative Crone! I consider myself to be the Grandma Moses of the Fiber Arts World as I came to the art late in life. My blog will consist of my art; art of others; an occasional book review because when not creating, I am reading; perhaps an enlightening discussion on a favorite quote...and positive discussions of politics/world affairs only!

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Tuesday, April 12, 2016

SAQA Conference and More

Two weeks ago my daughter Andrea, who is also a member of SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Association), and I flew to Philadelphia to attend our first SAQA Conference. What a great experience! The first night, we had dinner with the Texas gals, tha Alaska members, and two from Oregon.

The Conference began the next day. One of the high lights of the trip was a visit to the Barnes Art Museum. Several of us took an Uber there (my first experience with Uber but not my last)

Waiting for our Uber

The Barnes....we couldn't take pictures inside; a fabulous collection! I've never seen so many Renoirs and Cezannes under one roof.

That evening we went to an Ice Breaker Reception and Fajita Bar Reception at the hotel, the Double Tree Center City. Being from Texas, I'm always a little leery of Mexican food North of the Red River and the rule applied...fajitas ok but not great! But I had a wonderful time and met many, many fellow artists!

Our hotel in Philly. That's the famous City Hall down the street.

The next day, Friday, an inspiring talk by fiber artist, Kathleen Loomis. She spoke on why work in a series....I absorbed sooo much from her!

After this talk, we heard from students from the University of the Arts. Lunch was on our own so Andrea and I struck out to see some of the sites within walking distance.

City Hall with the famous 36 foot high statue of William Penn on top.

Andrea and I with Robert Indiana's "LOVE" sculpture (Philadelphia IS the city of Brotherly Love!)

A sculpture by Lipchitz "Government of the People"

That afternoon, we attended the PechaKucha! The art of concise presentations! 24 SAQA members presented 20 slides in 15 minutes each! Really fun and very informative! That evening was the Banquet and Spotlight auction. The auction is a fund raiser for SAQA...I had donated a small quilt I had made with fabrics I had created at various Arrowmont workshops. Jill Kertulla purchased it as she had just taught at Arrowmont and had done one of the PechaKucha presentations on her time there.

My "Autumn in the Smokys" purchased by Jill Kertulla.

Saturday another fabulous speaker, Carolyn Mazloomi on "When Being a Good Artist Is Not Enough". Dr. Mazloomi is a terrific speaker...funny, sincere, full of wisdom. I could have listened to her longer than her allotted time frame.

I am fortunate to have one of her books...."Spirits of the Cloth", a retirement gift from a friend of mine, Cindy Montgomery.

Saturday afternoon we were scheduled to attend the "Art Quilt Elements" Show at the Wayne Art Center. We all gathered outside the hotel to wait for the buses to take us there. After about half an hour of wait, several of us decided to get an Uber driver. About that time there was an announcement that there had been a miscommunication at the bus company, and that they were not coming! So a mad scramble issued...we ended up stuffing eight people (plus the driver) into our Uber for the 40 minute drive! A great show...not able to take pictures but several SAQA members had been juried in, including our own Kerri Green fro DFW region.

The Wayne Art Center...Wayne, Pennsylvania

That evening it had been arranged for everyone to go to a dinner location with other SAQA members within walking distance to the hotel so we were all scattered hither and yon. Andrea and I ended up going to an Italian restaurant with two great SAQA members, Cindy Grselda and Lori Beitler. Both are long time members which was really good because they were very helpful in answering our newbie questions!

The last day, Sunday, we were in the main lecture hall once again for a couple more speakers. Maria Shell, one of our new friends from Alaska, gave a talk titled "The Art of the Word: Walk, Talk, and Write Like An Artist". Again, another encouraging, inspiring talk! And then a very interesting talk on copyrights in art. And lastly....the goodbyes and last picture taking!

Maria, Kerri, and Heather

The Texas Girls: Deborah, Kerri, Heather, Jay, and Andrea

Our Alaska friends : Kim, Maria, and ?

Jay and Andrea...and tucked under my arm is the door prize I won! Two yards of Cherrywood fabric!

So, as most everyone packed up and started returning home, Andrea and I packed up and moved across town to Holiday Inn Express. We had planned to stay around a few days and do some sightseeing. The Double Tree rates were just too high for us now that conference rates no longer applied thus the move....by way of Uber! So stay tuned for further adventures!!!